Prior to the incident, the youth and Hongo were among three boys studying for a test at the residence. Police later found bloodstains at the entrance and inside on the first floor.

Kotaro Hongo (Twitter)

“Fight over a textbook”

“We got into a fight over a textbook,” the youth was quoted by police in admitting to the allegations. “In the past, we had a problem when the textbook went missing. When I asked [him] about it, [he] denied [hiding it].”

Judge Suzuki pointed out that the youth later framed the crime as a suicide. “It was extremely malicious,” the judge said in handing down the ruling.

An examination of the body of Hongo showed wounds to the arms, indicating that he attempted to fight off the attack. There were also gashes to his head and face, police said previously.